


Induced Calm

by Adaridaba



Category: Now You See Me (Movies)
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Hypnotism, M/M, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-10 21:58:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10448472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adaridaba/pseuds/Adaridaba
Summary: “Merritt, I can’t breath” Daniel seemed to have tried to keep his voice even, but it just ends up cracking.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So I was asked to write something with Merritt using hypnosis to calm Danny down from an anxiety attack and this is what came out. This is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine. I have never had an anxiety attack before, so I went to the internet for information, if anything is wrong let me know. Any constructive criticism is welcomed. Hope you all enjoy!

Merritt jerks out of bed when the sound of a loud bang, followed by and a string of curses, reaches his ears. He lets his eyes adjust to the darkness of his room, intently listening. Another string of curses travels throughout the apartment. 

Merritt glances over at his nightstand. The clock reads 3:14 in the morning. He thinks he has a vague idea of who could be up and about in the living room at this hour. 

Letting out a sigh, Merritt quietly walks down the hall, stopping at Jack and Lula’s shared room to make sure everything was okay there. Peeking his head inside, he sees them wrapped up in each other's arms, passed out. Looks like he was right then.

When he reaches the living room he stops momentarily, observing the other that was present.

J. Daniel Atlas is pacing back and forth in front of the coffee table. Said coffee table is completely covered with piles of papers, some are scattered across the floor.

He freezes when his eyes land on Merritt. After a few seconds he moves, picking up the scattered papers.

“What are you still doing up?” Merritt asks, trying not to let the worry be detected in his voice.

A few moments pass, and Daniel remains quiet as he places the papers back on the coffee table. Merritt is about to ask again.

“What does it look like?” Daniel snaps, or tries to. His voice is unusually quiet and has a sort of distressed edge to it, catching Merritt by surprise.

With a raised brow Merritt steps more into the living room and sits on the couch. Seems like this wasn’t going to be an easy solve, so might as well be comfortable. “Looks like you’re still going over the plan. Again. Even though we all agreed that we had it down two days ago.”

“Yeah, well you all might, but there’s still a lot we haven’t accounted for.” Daniel tries for a defensive tone now, but it honestly just sounds tired. He goes back to pacing.

Merritt takes the other in. The deep circles under under his eyes, his paler than usual skin, and the way his hands were shaking. The kid looked like he hadn’t had a decent night of sleep in a while. 

“When's the last time you’ve slept Atlas?” 

“It doesn't matter.”

“Yeah it does kid. Why are you pushing yourself so hard?”

Daniel stops pacing and instead starts shifting where he stands. Merritt takes note of how the younger man moves his hands to try and prevent the shaking from being as noticeable.

“We can't mess up…I can't...” He trails off looking down at his fidgeting hands.

Merritt rolls his eyes and lets out a dry laugh. “Atlas, it’s not like someone’s gonna get shot if you don't plan out every detail. We’re all big boys and girls here. We can handle ourselves.”

That was the wrong thing to say Merritt realizes as Daniel’s entire body freezes up.

“Atlas…? Daniel?” Merritt asks worriedly, slowly walking to where the other was standing. 

As Merritt approached, Daniel steps back, his breathing increasing. Merritt can see a light sheen of sweat break out over his skin. 

“Shit Danny?” Merritt tries again, gently placing a hand on the others shoulder. Daniel’s breathing hitches in response. Merritt’s concern is now heard in his voice. “Danny, hey, can you hear me?”  
Daniel nods slowly, a shaky hand now over his mouth, eyes wide.

“Do you know what’s going on?” 

Daniel nods again and gradually pulls his hand away from his mouth. “I sometimes have anxiety attacks” he whispers. Merritt wants to slap himself for his earlier attempt at joking. That obviously was not the right thing to say. He felt horrible and it hurt him how wrecked the kid sounded. He stays silent seeing how Daniel's eyes held unshed tears and how his hands were clenched, nails digging into his palms. 

“Merritt, I can’t breath” Daniel seemed to have tried to keep his voice even, but it just ended up cracking.

He snaps into action as he gently pushes Daniel to sit down on the couch. Kneeling in front of the other breaks his heart when Daniel’s breath hitches again and the tears start to fall.

“Okay Danny-boy, come on, look at me.” The mentalist speaks soothingly, placing a hand on the back of the panicking mans neck. Daniel manages to look at him, tears streaming down his face, breath coming out in short gaps. Merritt's free hand goes to one of Daniels clenched fits, and begins to rub his thumb reassuringly against the back of his hand. 

“Okay Danny, as you listen to my voice, you can start to focus your attention on my breathing. As your attention focuses on my breathing, your unconscious mind begins to adjust your breathing. As you breathe in and out, you will notice an ever deepening comfort start to develop, and you will feel relaxed, calm. When I count down to one you will be calm, relaxed and tired,” Merritt speaks confidently and finds comfort in the fact that Daniel seems to be intently focused on the words leaving his lips. 

“5...4...3...2...1…” Daniel sags back into the couch with a small relieved gasp.

It's quiet for a moment. Merritt watches the other silently, still filled with worry.

Daniel’s tired voice breaks the silence. “It worked…” 

Merritt allows himself to fully sit on the floor and slouch against the front of the couch with relief. “Of course it did, I’m not known as a highly renowned mentalist for nothing” he sighs out then glances back at Daniel who lets out a small hum of agreement.

“Look, I’m sorry about what I said, I didn't know saying that would affect you so much.” Merritt admits looking up at the ceiling. He really didn’t want to look at Daniel’s tear stained face at the moment.

“It’s fine, I don’t really show how much I care for you guys anyway, you were just joking anyway.” comes the calm and honest response. 

Of course he cares. Merritt is back to feeling like an idiot for his poorly timed joke. Making up his mind he stands. “Come on, you need some rest kid.” Daniel was still under, meaning that he would be susceptible to answering honestly about anything that was asked to him. That doesn’t sit well with Merritt, he didn’t want to take advantage of that. So he gently nudges Daniel into standing and leads him to his own room. As expected, Daniel goes without a fuss.

Once in his room, Daniel heads straight to his bed where he lays down. As he snuggles under the covers and gets comfortable he glances over at Merritt with a small tired smile. 

“Thank you, I’m really happy you were there to help me out.”

“Anytime Danny, sleep well.”

And with that, Daniel closes his eyes, fast asleep. Merritt decides that he wouldn’t leave Daniel alone tonight. He convinces himself it was just in case another anxiety attack occurred after the other sleeps off the hypnosis. If he was being honest though, he just wanted to be near Danny at the moment. 

And so, Merritt camps down on the floor, his back leaning next to Daniel's bed. 

  
♤ ♣ ♧ ♥ ♡ ♦ ♢ 

  


The next morning Merritt is woken up by loud giggling and a blinding flash.

Groaning at the pain from his neck, must have slept on it wrong, he opens his eyes to see Lula. Her smile is as bright as the flash that comes from the camera she holds. As his eyes adjust he sees Jack standing next to her, attempting to smother his laughter behind his hand.

Another groan escapes Merritt's lips as he glances back. Daniel was still fast asleep, and looked in all honesty, absolutely adorable. He was curled up on his side, head close to where Merritt's had been, and mouth hanging open slightly, letting out soft snores. A small smile graces Merritt's lips, and another flash goes off.

“Okay okay, knock it off you two, if you wake him up I’m not responsible for your deaths.” He grumbles with a small eye roll. Soft giggles follow. 

Merritt is at ease as he looks at Daniel knowing that the other was finally getting the rest that he deserved. He lets his hand trail gently through Daniel's newly growing hair. Of course Danny cared about them. 

He smiles. Another flash goes off.


End file.
